The Rakhi Maker – Finale

Avinash hoped the darkness provided by the walls and the curtains would obliviate his existence: to the world, to himself. They were gone, vanished in the thin, cold, misty air of two nights before, and were not to be found anywhere. His friends said going to the police would be pointless; no one cares for a bag of rakhis that seemingly cost nothing.

Even if they cost everything to the rakhi maker, everything that his family would depend on for the next two months until he sold his Diwali goods. Even then, he had hoped to buy materials for the firecrackers with his rakhi money, which he knew his father would not have been confident, or stupid enough to do, depending on savings instead. But, even bidding goodbye to the dead, for it was only five months since his father had been gone, cost a lot in the real world – an expenditure no one had foreseen.

This, and a million other thoughts and anxieties swirled in Avinash’s head. It had felt like a furnace lately due to these undeniable worries plaguing him, but his was a furnace with hope. He had his father’s surprising optimism, a condition made possible by the cultivation of love in everything he did. Avinash believed that if he loved his work enough, did everything he could to do it well, nothing bad would happen.

His farmer neighbours would disagree, as they regularly submitted to the elements despite resorting to every machinery (including the finest machine of all: human) available, and still a good harvest remained a matter of luck. Vegetables may rot or die, but a rakhi is a precious, dependable commodity for one day of the year. And they were gone, who knows where.

He had switched his cell phone off, after receiving incessant calls from the wholesale merchant when he was late for their meeting. He didn’t dare switch it on again, and conversing with anybody at all, provided no relief or comfort in unravelling the mystery. Who would steal rakhis?

All he did was place the bag on the ground next to the bench, on which he barely slept for five or six hours. Should he have used the bag as a pillow? Wrap his arms around it in a cuddle, as though it were a teddy bear or one of his siblings? Or come back home again, and leave early in the morning, this time making sure he did not miss the train to Phoolan Pur. All the alternatives tempted him, because his decision at the time, though it seemed wise and came recommended by the station teller, had proved to be as much of a disaster, an almost equal, irreparable loss, as that of his father’s death.

His mother accused him, and went over the details several times, in her impassioned, high-pitched soliloquy, that was part mourning, part rage and all show. This might seem like a stereotype that Indian mothers are often subjected to, even for relatively trivial things like their children being late for school or for not standing up to their bullies, but the narrator hopes it truly is a stereotype, and therefore, not the truth. However, in Avinash’s case, as in every other case, his mother’s words provided no comfort. He had nothing to do, and so he tried to sleep.

Kalash barged into the one-storey house without decorum, as he was prone to do being a frequent visitor, and announced to the family, “Turn on the news! For everyone’s sake, turn it on!”

Avinash’s mother found watching TV at a time like this inappropriate, but his siblings promptly obeyed, looking for any excuse at all to escape into the TV world they adored, even if it was the boring news. Salman Khan even made an appearance on the news channel as they switched it on, which they found exciting.

“Avinash, come! Come!” They all screamed, and repeated until Avinash appeared, bothered, hot-headed, murder in his eyes, cursing them for trying to make him civil at a time like this. But, Salman Khan called his name too, and this time, he listened.

“Avinash Thapar, if that is your name according to this business card, we’ve been calling you, if this is your number according to this business card which, don’t worry, I won’t reveal on TV, but anyway, bhai (brother), we have your bag of rakhis, and so, if you’re watching, come collect it from me here at Phoolan Pur Cinema tomorrow at noon. Okay dude, take care. And, be there.”

Salman Khan in Sultan

They watched the clip several times, until they were sure that it was THE Salman Khan, speaking to their own Avinash Thapar. His father had made those business cards during last year’s festive season, because he’d hoped his son would help expand their business as soon as he learnt how. Avinash had innocuously dropped a couple in the bag, hoping the wholesale merchant would help promote his work. He had forgotten about them, but even as his father had printed the cards the previous year, he didn’t imagine anybody would ever look at them.

There had been a bomb scare. If ordinary citizens had been allowed to plough the area the day after Akash abandoned the bag of rakhis outside Phoolan Pur Cinema, they’d have found the rakhis, and done whatever they wanted with them. However, since Salman Khan was coming to pay a surprise visit to Phoolan Pur Cinema to promote his new film Sultan, the area had been scanned to every inch of its everyday life, and a suspicious bag that seemed filled to the bone with rakhis had seemed like the only object to be harmful to the superstar’s person.

The superstar, on the other hand, delighted at the fact that the bag contained rakhis, and only rakhis, and nothing but rakhis. A business card was also found, and several security personnel made calls to the number of one going by the name of Avinash Thapar, but he was not to be reached. Even the superstar tried it, hoping to surprise the rakhi maker, but ultimately had to resort to making a public announcement on national TV. He delighted in the rakhis, the off-duty painter in him appreciating their craftsmanship and artistry, and wanted to know more of the maker.

Avinash wore his father’s only tailored shirt and trousers and this time, he did not have to worry about his journey to Phoolan Pur. His mother broke into her trinket-box that contained her savings to provide him with enough money, and also packed him a lunch-box full of sweets for the superstar, though Avinash had seen Fan earlier this year, and was skeptical if the meeting will be all that everyone else expected it to be: a real event.

A couple of his friends accompanied him to Phoolan Pur in the jam-packed train, where most were headed to catch a glimpse of the superstar. Predictably, Phoolan Pur, right from the railway station to the cinema, resembled the makings of an exodus, all for Salman ‘bhai’ Khan, who was brother, lover, beloved son and more to the nation. Avinash was early for their purported time of meeting, but predictably, failed at gaining admission to the theatre. His friends were agitated, but he’d grown used to disappointment. He hoped once the crowds thin out a little, he’d attempt to retrieve his rakhis.

Unbeknownst to him, Lefty Talwar and his friends, Constable Sahu, Deepadi and her son Akash, had also made it to the spot, erstwhile keepers and protectors (and also, thieves) of his rakhis, after watching the announcement, equally curious at catching a glimpse of the superstar and the rakhi maker. Constable Sahu believed he would have solved the case if only he had time to discover the business card while going through the bag. But, all the individual parties believed it was ultimately the chance of a lifetime that the rakhi maker should get to meet the superstar, via losing his bag of rakhis and having it believed to contain a bomb.

At 12 p.m. sharp, Chief Inspector Narayan announced that Salman Khan had already left Phoolan Pur the previous day for another engagement. However, the bag was still in custody of the Phoolan Pur Police, and if the owner wished to retrieve it, he was to come to the police station with identification documents.

The crowd dispersed, and not many gathered in Phoolan Pur police station. Except, those that had found themselves tangled in the fate of the bag of rakhis.

Avinash still doubted if the bag would be returned to him. He had his Aadhaar Card, freshly-minted Voter’s Card, Ration Card and even his birth certificate and board exam admit card. He was also doubtful about what he would do if he did get the bag back, for the wholesale merchant was sure to never be interested in working with him again. But, they were his, whether they were sold or not, and he needed to see them in the flesh, to get some of himself back.

They believed him, they gave it back, and Constable Sahu even congratulated him. Lefty, Deepadi and Akash were not as forthcoming, finally realising their guilt, but also pleased at the reunion. Avinash looked inside the bag professionally, to see whether his goods were still salvageable for the days leading up to the Rakhi festival. They would do, he believed, but he also found a folded sheet of A4 copier paper, and it read,

Dear Avinash,

I didn’t want to make you feel small by giving you money. Your rakhis are worth more. The love that went into making them is clear for all to see. I will trouble you further and steal one of them for my sister. Think of it only as a rakhi, from one brother to another.

My team will call you to help set up a stall for you in Mumbai at a handicrafts fair, where you should be able to get a good price on them just in time for the Rakhi festival. If you wish, they will also help you set up your own shop in the city, if you want to sell your work all year round. I hope we shall meet someday, and you could give me tips on how to make good art!

Yours,
Salman bhai.

And so, our Rakhi Maker did manage to sell his rakhis in time, and buy provisions for Diwali. He also became a more punctual and efficient traveller, travelling back and forth from Jamnapur to Mumbai regularly. His business flourished, as did his art, but he was still to meet all those who helped him along the way. However, just like the letter that was framed on his wall, and the maxim that had been imprinted in his mind right from boyhood, he never failed to kindle the love he had for his work, as he went about doing it. After all,

Agar koi kaam pyaar se karo, toh uski keemat bar jati hai.

If you do some work with love, its price rises up.

Did you enjoy ‘The Rakhi Maker’? It would be lovely if you leave a comment below!

I really enjoyed the way you gave a lot of context for several of the characters, how you showed who they are through what they did and how they reacted to things instead of telling us what to think about them. The “show, don’t tell” rule for fiction is so important, and you did a really great job with that! You were able to show their humanity and even elicit some sympathy for characters who did some questionable things, which to me is a big plus in any story. Things are so much more interesting when we can see that it’s not just black and white, good and bad. And I really enjoyed getting to see a glimpse of Indian culture and how some of the seasonal rituals and daily events happen. The things that can be taken for granted, or not! like “no one would steal a bag of rakhis’ ! I loved the cameo appearance of Salman Kahn saving the day with his generosity and grace, and the whole event of the movie coming out and folks dancing in the theaters. And the importance (and weight) of honoring family members, especially the elders, is communicated quite well, through several, very different scenes and situations.

I honestly don’t know what I did, because I’ve had this idea for a couple of months, but was too busy to put it down. I can see things more clearly from what you wrote! I am so relieved that people have enjoyed the ending, because I really wanted to be done with it by that point. Have you seen any Salman Khan movies? His releases are a big deal here, more than other big actors, and people tend to dance along and whistle more in theatres whilst watching his films than any other!

Family is very important to the Indian social fabric, but sometimes it can get over-sentimentalized. I tried to avoid that, though I don’t know if I was successful. This is the start of the festive season (rakhi was on 18th August), though there are festivities all year round, and that’s plenty of fodder for stories! I am really glad you enjoyed this one, and hopefully got to know a little more about my culture. Thank you again for your generous comment!

No. I haven’t seen any Salman Kahn movies, but now I’m intrigued! Watching at home won’t be anything like going to one of your cinemas, but now I’ll know how to imagine the audience’s response!

In a film such as “Slum Dog Millionaire”, (did you see this film?) or whenever a happy ending occurs in an Indian film and there is a Bollywood-type dance sequence at the end, does the audience typically get up and dance?

I do think you managed to avoid over-sentimentalizing the family aspects in your story. But I’m not sure that I’m a great judge of this, as I am a very overly sentimental person! You might want to ask someone who doesn’t like the Once Upon a Time TV show, or old Shirley Temple movies! 🙂 (By the way, if you haven’t seen it already, I recommend the Once Upon a Time series for stomachaches, headaches, heartaches, or whatever ails you! It’s so silly and sweet!)

I am very sentimental myself, and so I try to lower it as much as I can in what I do! I have been wanting to watch Once Upon A Time.

I’m sure you can watch Salman Khan movies on Netflix. There are several movies there of my favourite actor Shahrukh Khan, whose DDLJ I definitely recommend. As for the audience dancing, it depends the kind of theatre or location you are in. There are audiences who like to be prim and proper, though they would laugh and cry like any audience would. And there are audiences like you would find in a sports event, who react loudly to everything that happens on screen! I can get a bit enthusiastic even among the well-mannered audiences (I started dancing when they played the Ghostbusters theme on the latest movie), but it usually depends on the vibe of the audience.

The character detours are often the best part! I used to be all about plot but in the last few years I’ve started to really enjoy well crafted phrases & character development, both of which were certainly present here! It was neat how I felt I got a really clear sense of Avinash in only 3 parts of writing